


A Lesson in Socially Appropriate Behaviour

by HatshepsutAgrippina



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Aftercare kind of but like in a Shaw way, Angst, F/F, Handcuffs, Punishment, Spanking, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 08:16:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11309382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HatshepsutAgrippina/pseuds/HatshepsutAgrippina
Summary: Set across episodes 4x9 and 4x10: Shaw punishes Root for drugging her.Disclaimer: The start of this story follows the events of the series pretty closely in the sense that the dialogue is pretty much word for word with the exception of a bit I added to explain how Shaw went from being handcuffed to the bed to handcuffed to the bench as that wasn't really covered in the show. It diverges around the point that Shaw gets herself out of the handcuffs. So obviously the credit for most of the dialogue and events during the earlier part goes to the writers of the show and not me.





	A Lesson in Socially Appropriate Behaviour

“Are you sure this is the place?” Shaw glanced around the room with uncertainty. The building seemed suspiciously quiet and empty considering John was supposed to be here on a mission with Elias. She had expected there to be more shooting.

“Sorry sweetie, you didn’t leave me any other choice.” She felt a sharp sting as a needle sank into her neck. Goddamnit, Root was drugging her… again.  She spun to face Root wrapping a hand around her neck.

“I will end you.” She bit out as her vision began to blur.

“You can end me all you want...” Root’s voice penetrated through the fog that clouded her mind as she began to collapse. Root’s arms wrapped around her, catching her, lowering her gently to the ground. “…right after your nap.” Root’s voice sounded muffled as she faded out of consciousness.

Shaw awoke handcuffed to a cot on the far side of the abandoned subway tunnel which served as their base of operations. She surveyed her surroundings growling as her eyes fell on Root.

“Would you like to get up, sweetie?” Root made her way over to Shaw’s side. “I suggest you cooperate but we can do this the hard way if you want to.” She waved her taser in front of Shaw’s face. Shaw gave her a mutinous glare as she detached the handcuffs from the bed frame, leaving them fastened to her right wrist. Shaw begrudgingly allowed herself to be escorted to the bench in front of the subway car. She sat when Root pushed her in the direction of the bench. Root closed the empty side of the cuffs around the arm of the bench with a click flashing Shaw an apologetic smile before heading out of the subway. As Root disappeared up the stairs Shaw turned her irate gaze on Finch who averted his eyes and busied himself with some form of tech-based work.

For several hours, Shaw stared at the wall plotting revenge. Eventually, Finch stated he was going out to run some errands and she was left alone. For a moment, Shaw considered leaving. She could get out of handcuffs easily if she so desired and it would be simpler to do so when no one else was here. She didn’t really want to hurt anyone besides, maybe, Root.  However, she decided against it. She wanted to be here when Root got back.

Finally, Root returned, descending the stairs clad in a bear costume. Shaw hardly batted an eye. When it came to Root one tended to get used to these sorts of things. Besides, she was too pissed off to feel confusion right now. As Root reached her side Finch also made a reappearance, paper bag in hand.

“What’s going on?” Finch eyed them in confused concern.

“Just finished entertaining at a children’s party.” Root explained pulling off the head of her costume with a relieved sigh. “Mr Bearenstain was a big hit.” Shaw rolled her eyes.

“How could you let her do this to me, Finch?” She grimaced keeping her eyes fixed on the wall in front of her. “Tranq me like I’m some kind of animal.” She tugged her wrist against the handcuffs for dramatic effect.

“It was for your own good, Ms Shaw.” Finch offered in response “You are no longer safe from Samaritan’s gaze, and you wouldn’t listen to reason.”

“He’s right, Sam.” Root interjected with a sigh “You really wouldn’t.”

“You turned on me, Harold. Not cool.” Shaw waved a reproachful finger in Finch’s direction. 

“A peace offering.” Finch held up the bag in his hand “It’s the Beatrice Lilly from Park’s Deli. Including the extra ingredients you enjoy.” Shaw continued to glare at him for a moment then snatched the bag from his hand.

Shaw held the paper bag in her free hand tearing at it with her teeth in frustration. Root rushed to her aid taking the bag as she sat down. It would seem at some point while her attention had been focused on Finch Root had divested herself of the rest of the bear costume and was now dressed in her regular clothes, which she had presumably had on underneath it.

“Here let me help you. Two hands are better than one.” Root glanced at her suggestively removing the sandwich from the bag and beginning to unwrap it, far too slowly for Shaw’s preferences. Once she was satisfied the wrapping had been sufficiently loosened as to not pose a problem Shaw snatched it back from Root and bit into it with vigour. The corner of Root’s mouth quirked up in amusement, her gaze remaining intently on Shaw.

“So how long do you nerds expect to keep me locked up?” Shaw questioned, her mouth still full of sandwich.

“Until it’s safe for you.” Root leant closer to her.

“And us.” Finch interjected. “If Samaritan and its human agents discover you… it could lead them to every single one of us.”

“Guilt Harold? Really?” Shaw continued chewing “You know, normally that wouldn’t work on me but… uh… I wouldn’t want anything to happen… to the dog.” She fixed Root with a glare.

“Well, I’m glad we all agree you’re going to stay put. Especially since we all know it would be impossible to keep you locked up…” Root smirked at her “…against your will, anyway.”

“So true…” Shaw slipped her hand out of the handcuffs and twisted it around in the air. She jumped to her feet and began to pace. Root remained seated staring at her with a grin painted on her face, clearly pleased with herself for getting her way. Not for long Shaw thought to herself. “Now I think it’s time we have a _talk_ about your tendency to drug me.” She turned briefly to fix her gaze on Finch “Get out!” Finch glanced between Root and Shaw, lines of worry etched into his face. Root gave him a subtle nod. Despite Shaw’s earlier threat, she knew she was safe with her. She would never hurt her. Well, that wasn’t strictly true. Shaw would have no qualms hurting her but she would never seriously injure her, not anymore. Their relationship had come a long way since back when they had opposing motivations and Shaw had wanted to kill her. While she wouldn’t readily admit it, Shaw cared about her now. That was sufficient for Root. Finch acquiesced and headed out of the subway although it was apparent from his gait that his concerns had not been assuaged.

Root’s grin faltered a bit as Shaw’s wrathful eyes bore into her. No matter how much she professed not to care, or how angry she was, Root trusted Shaw would be mindful of her wellbeing. That being said, she was certain whatever Shaw intended to do to her right now would be painful and not in the fun way.

Shaw smirked upon noting Root’s apprehension. Damn right, she should be worried. This was not the first time Root had knocked her out and transported her someplace against her will. She’d had enough of it.  Root was returning her gaze warily, probably wondering whether Shaw intended to punch her or shoot her. Shaw had done both in the past, although under different circumstances. She had no desire to do either now. No, right now she had a completely different plan. By the time she was done Root was going to be very sorry for drugging her.

Root shivered slightly as Shaw advanced on her, a look of vexed determination marking her features. While she knew Shaw’s intentions towards her in this moment were of a decidedly non-sexual nature she couldn’t suppress her growing arousal in response to her attention. Shaw almost never maintained eye contact with her for this long. Shaw seized Root’s bicep her fingers digging into the flesh hard enough to bruise. She leant in towards her until her lips almost brushed against her ear.

“You will never drug me again.” She hissed. Abruptly, Shaw pulled back jerking Root to her feet. 

“I didn’t have a choice!” Root protested, putting up little resistance as Shaw began dragging her across the room.  “You threatened to expose yourself to Samaritan if I didn’t take you to John. It was the only way to keep you safe.” Shaw stopped and spun Root to face her.

“Maybe if you told me going to help John would put the mission and the team at risk I would have been more cooperative.” Root wisely refrained from expressing that in the moment Shaw had used her own safety as a bargaining chip she hadn’t cared about the mission, the team, or anything besides ensuring she didn’t follow through with it. Her thoughts must, however, have been written on her face. Shaw rolled her eyes. “The success of the mission is more important than my life.”

“I know that, Sameen!” Root snapped “However, I saw an opportunity to protect both. Can you really blame me for taking it?”

“Root…” Shaw growled “You can’t just drug people whenever they won’t do what you want. I’m a sociopath and even I know that.” Shaw covered the remaining distance between herself and the cot, which she had been cuffed to earlier in the day, in a couple of strides, tugging Root along behind her. She sat down and took hold of Root’s waist pulling her to stand between her legs. She wasted no time, reaching for the zipper of Root’s jeans.

“Um… Shaw?” Root gasped. While this was certainly a welcome development it was unexpected given how angry Shaw appeared to be right now.

“Do you ever think about anything other than sex?” Shaw rolled her eyes.

“When I’m with you or more generally?” Root smirked, Shaw groaned and shook her head. “Besides, how else am I supposed to interpret you removing my pants?”

“You’re smart, I’m sure you can work it out.” Shaw yanked Root’s jeans down to her knees before hooking her fingers into her panties and dragging them down to join them. Root’s pupils dilated and she placed her hands on Shaw’s shoulders to maintain her balance. Shaw growled, batting her hands away. Seizing Root’s wrist she hauled her across her knees. Root choked slightly as her stomach collided with Shaw’s thighs. Surely, she didn’t intend to spank her, did she?

Shaw’s palm landed on her bottom with a deafening crack. Root flinched.   A barrage of conflicting emotions assaulted her. The physical closeness, the way Shaw was touching her so intimately, it was something she craved. Despite her preference for topping, if this had been happening in a sexual context she would have found it hot. If she was being completely honest with herself even now it was still kind of hot. However, Shaw’s intentions were entirely non-sexual. That this was intended as a punishment was humiliating. Root could take, and had previously been subjected to, far worse pain than that which could be inflicted by a spanking.  The fact Shaw had decided upon a punishment commonly reserved for children was, frankly, insulting.

Shaw smacked Root again settling into a rhythm. She didn’t bother with a lecture; Root knew why she was doing this. Shaw focused on painting her bottom bright red, spacing her swats out from the top of her bottom to the middle of her thighs. She changed up the rhythm from time to time alternating between working her way up and down at a measured pace and smacking hard and fast in a random pattern. She smirked slightly whenever her efforts were rewarded with a yelp. For the most part, these days, she didn’t like to see Root hurt. However, after the trying morning she’d had, it offered a small measure of satisfaction somewhat reminiscent of the days when their relationship had been of a more antagonistic nature.

The longer it went on the more Root wished for it to stop. It wasn’t so much the pain that bothered her. While it did hurt, it wasn’t nearly as bad as being shot or tortured. However, it was having a profound emotional effect on her. Aside from her connection with the machine, there was nothing she valued more than Shaw’s respect. Every smack further enforced the message that her recent actions had jeopardised that. While she enjoyed irritating Shaw, and, in fact, frequently went out of her way to do so, she couldn’t stand making her truly angry not when she craved her affection so deeply. This probably wouldn’t prevent her taking a similar course of action in the future she would rather Shaw be angry than dead. However, Shaw’s disappointment hurt.

“You know, I thought we were past this.” A particularly hard pair of smacks landed on Root’s sit-spots. “I trusted you. Then you drugged me…” Root blinked back tears. Shaw’s statement surprised her. She hadn’t thought she trusted anyone, at least not entirely.  She wouldn’t cry, not in front of Shaw. Shaw hated emotions and she had already lost enough of her respect for the day.

“Well, I trusted you to be reasonable before you tried to expose yourself to Samaritan.” Root muttered defensively. “So, I guess we both learned something new today…” Shaw smacked her harder.

“You know, I could keep this up all day if that’s what it takes…” She drawled. Root remained silent. Shaw smacked the same stop several times in a row. Root yelped. Somehow her attempt to hide her emotions from Shaw, while seemingly successful, had made her feel even worse. It didn’t appear to have made Shaw particularly happy either. Shaw continued spanking returning to a random pattern, delivering swats in such rapid succession that Root could barely register the sting of one smack before the next one fell. While Root had been initially sceptical of the idea that a spanking could hurt much for someone like her, this was starting to become quite unpleasant.  The individual smacks weren’t so bad but she was beginning to feel the cumulative effect. It certainly didn’t hurt as much as a stapedectomy without anaesthesia, but it wasn’t fun either. It had certainly ceased being hot quite some time ago. Afterwards, she would probably imply to Shaw that she’d had fun. Masking her insecurities through flirting was becoming her standard when it came to Shaw. She supposed, in some respects, they were similar in their tendencies for avoidance. Shaw attempted to deflect her discomfort with feelings and closeness through sarcasm and Root attempted to hide the extent of her emotions through a combination of humour and sexuality. The difference being Root could see exactly what Shaw was doing, she doubted Shaw was so perceptive. As the smacks continued to fall Root found it increasingly harder to hold back her tears. The fear of losing Shaw had yet to dissipate and now it was combining with the deep sadness of knowing she had disappointed her. She couldn’t quite determine whether the physical pain was making it harder to control her emotions or whether the intensity of her emotions was amplifying the pain of the spanking. However, the combination of the two was becoming difficult to handle. Her chest tightened as the emotions began to overwhelm her.  The next few smacks pushed her over the edge and tears began to fall. 

Shaw stopped when Root began to cry. She hadn’t expected this and was unsure how to respond. Other people’s emotions made her deeply uncomfortable and it would be dishonest to say she wasn’t tempted to run. However, she was responsible for this. As much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, she cared about Root. She couldn’t just leave her. Not when she had done this. Root looked so vulnerable right now. Vulnerable had never been a word she had associated with Root. Even after being tortured she had never looked this distressed. Shaw had wanted to vent her frustration, make Root think twice about drugging her again but she hadn’t wanted this. The time she had punched Root, her actions had been met with a smirk. She had expected a reaction more akin to that. Fuck, she was terrible at this. This was why she never did relationships. In slightly hesitant movements she patted Root on the back.  To most people, the gesture would have appeared the quintessential disinterested “there there”. However, the weak yet slightly indulgent smile Root gave her over her shoulder indicated she understood just how hard Shaw was trying. 

Root could sense just how uncomfortable Shaw was and she cursed herself for losing control. She stumbled to her feet pulling her jeans back into place. She wiped tears away with the back of one hand as the other fumbled with the button at the front of her jeans. Shaw opened and closed her mouth a couple of times uncertain of what to say. Words had never really been her strong suit. Having now fastened her jeans Root turned and took off at a stride in the direction of the exit. Shaw leapt to her feet cursing.

“Root!” She called as she began to stalk after her.  Root almost turned when Shaw called her name but decided against it. She had embarrassed herself in front of Shaw enough for one day. She picked up her pace keeping her eyes fixed on the exit. Just as she reached the stairs she felt fingers wrap around her arm. Shaw spun her around for the second time that day. Shaw’s eyes bore into her and she averted her own focusing her attention on her shoes. The fact she had yet to stop crying infuriated her.

“Root…” Shaw began growling as Root continued to avoid eye contact. “Oh, for fuck sake!” She pulled Root towards her, wrapping her arms around her trembling frame. Root’s eyes shot up meeting Shaw’s a look of confusion on her face. Shaw was hugging her? _Shaw_? Shaw shook her head pulling back. Root whined as the loss of contact. Shaw rolled her eyes. Placing a hand on the back of Root’s neck she pulled herself onto the tips of her toes, pressing her lips against Root’s, kissing her forcefully. Root smirked slightly. That was cute. Root sometimes forgot how short Shaw was. Using the words Shaw and cute in the one sentence, however, would more likely than not land her right back over Shaw’s knee so she refrained from expressing her thoughts. She pressed her body against Shaw’s returning her kiss with passion.


End file.
